Where kids go when they run away

There isn't a lot of research about what happens to runaways once they leave home. What I can tell you is that the National Runaway Safeliine, is that about 60 percent of our callers are away from home as a runaway or they've been thrown out of their homes.
Of that 60 percent, about 35 percent are staying at relatives or a friend's house. They might get into this phenomenon they call "couch surfing." So tonight, they are at one friend's house and the next night, they are at another friend's house. Those parents might not really know that this is a runaway. Of the 60 percent, about 13 percent of them call us from the streets either using a cell phone or using a pay phone. About 5 percent of them call us from a shelter.
What that does mean is that we do get the calls from about 40 percent of kids that are at home, but they are facing some kind of situation that may cause a runaway episode and they are looking to use for help.

Maureen Blaha

NRS Executive Director

Maureen Blaha is the executive director of the National Runaway Safeline (NRS), the federally-designated national communication system for runaway and homeless youth. Under her leadership the visibility of NRS and awareness of its 1-800-RUNAWAY hotline has grown, while support has steadily increased in both personnel and finances. Several key accomplishments have been realized during Blaha’s tenure including: a program focused on runaway prevention called Let’s Talk: Runaway Prevention Curriculum; a comprehensive trend data report of crisis calls to 1-800-RUNAWAY used to educate and raise awareness about the runaway crisis in America; “Runaway Youth Longitudinal Study 2011” research that identifies the long-term effects of running away as a youth, which can be used to better educate and encourage parents, teachers and other adults to get involved, address the issues, and ultimately prevent a runaway situation; and National Runaway Prevention Month, an annual campaign to increase awareness of the issues facing runaway youth and to educate youth, families and the public about resources available to prevent youth from running away. Additionally, Blaha has been a featured speaker of the Special Victims Assistance Unit for the FBI (2005 and 2010), was invited to speak to UK parliament to help launch The Children's Society of England's national Safe and Sound Campaign (2005), and represented the runaway population at the groundbreaking White House Conference on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children (2002). Blaha was selected as the recipient of the CASA of Cook County 2010 Spirit Award and selected to participate in the Laura and John Arnold Giving Library for high-end donors. Blaha serves on the Interstate Commission for Juveniles, appointed in 2009.

There isn't a lot of research about what happens to runaways once they leave home. What I can tell you is that the National Runaway Safeliine, is that about 60 percent of our callers are away from home as a runaway or they've been thrown out of their homes.
Of that 60 percent, about 35 percent are staying at relatives or a friend's house. They might get into this phenomenon they call "couch surfing." So tonight, they are at one friend's house and the next night, they are at another friend's house. Those parents might not really know that this is a runaway. Of the 60 percent, about 13 percent of them call us from the streets either using a cell phone or using a pay phone. About 5 percent of them call us from a shelter.
What that does mean is that we do get the calls from about 40 percent of kids that are at home, but they are facing some kind of situation that may cause a runaway episode and they are looking to use for help.